The Kalgrillion
Ancient History (via the Kalgrillion) Introduction In the early days of the world, before the time of the Kalnuur, Vasil, and Saurian; it is said that the gods created four alternative races to inhabit and test their new creation. They felt that it was important that everything work out just right for the unfurling of their ultimate glorious tapestry of a plan. Perian (Halfling) The first of these races were the humble Perian, or Halfling. These creatures were very similar in anatomy to the Kalnuur of today, but stood at roughly half the size and had large hairy feet. They were known to enjoy the arts of fishing, farming, smoking the finest pipe tobacco, eating (an average of seven major meals a day), drinking, and every once in a while getting themselves into mischief. This diminutive race dwelled in earthen holes in the ground, but not a nasty, dirty, wet hole filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing to sit down on or to eat: it was a Halfling-hole, and that meant comfort. Naugrim (Dwarves) The next of the races were the Naugrim, or the Dwarves. These curious beings were particularly fond of the crafts of metalworking and masonry. As a result, they tended to reside in great fortresses beneath the mountains of the first world. The Naugrim were also similar to the Kalnuur as we know them today. Historians recovered some of their rune-inscribed tablets from the ruins of a great fortress beneath the earth that partially survived the formation of the second world. It told of the great deeds of the Dwarf-Kings of old. Many of these stories seem to suggest that the dwarves were a somewhat greedy race obsessed with the obtaining of wealth and shiny things. They kept long and thick facial hair of many sizes and shapes and were slightly taller than the Perian but broader and more resilient. Also recovered from these tablets was the recipe for their fine Dwarven whiskey, which is a widespread delicacy of the nobility of the world today. Dwarves were mighty warriors that held honor and bravery above all other virtues. Oologs (Trolls) The third of these races were the Oologs, or fearsome trolls of Asurmen. These creatures are unlike anything known in the world today. They stood at roughly eight feet tall and were broad, strong, and bloodthirsty. Fortunately for the other races, they were also quite dim-witted, aside from their broodmothers, the Troll Queens. The trolls were immensely territorial and were known to fight great wars with the Dwarves over their territory in the mountains. Trolls served out the bidding of their queens unquestioningly and defended their trolldens with animalistic ferocity unseen in our time. They were known to dwell on the outskirts of settlements and prey upon children who wandered too far into the wilds. The Troll Queens were incredibly greedy, even more so than the Dwarf-Kings under the mountains. They raided caravans and occupied bridges along trade routes in order to satisfy their thirst for wealth and riches. Moogles and Beginnings of Magic The fourth race were the Moogles, the first magical race. Moogles were created by the gods as somewhat of an afterthought. They decided that introducing magic to the mortal races would be an interesting experiment, so they gave magical powers to the moogles and decended them from the heavens on clouds of pure love. The moogles set up small nomadic camps in deep forests and flowery fields. Moogles were the smallest of the races, standing between one and two feet tall. They had plump furry bodies; round red noses; large red pompoms on their heads; and little batwings that allowed them to hover above the ground for short periods of time. They developed a tribal culture centered around magical power and the virtues of love and kindness. They quickly became friends with the dwarves, but the trolls were not so accepting of them. In fact, they found them quite delicious when marinated with garlic and honey and slow roasted over a fire. The moogles tried to teach the Perian and Naugrim their magic, but as a consequence for their vast magical power, their language was simple and somewhat difficult for the other races to learn. It consisted mostly of variations of the word “Kupo,” and their written language was consistent of hearts, flowers, swirls, and squiggly lines. The halflings learned their ways quickly, but the Naugrim, as it turned out, were not very skilled in the use of magic. They were able to handle the basic fundamentals of it, but were not able to cast advanced spells or master the arcane arts like the moogles and perian. The trolls found that when they consumed the magical flesh of moogles, they too were imbued with a small amount of magical power. They took advantage of this and hunted moogles in order to become more powerful. The gluttonous queens demanded that they be fed only moogle-flesh, and consequently, they were the most powerful in magical abilities. Ancient History These four races lived together for hundreds of years on the world that would soon be transformed into its current state. The moogles and Dwarves fought often together against the might of the troll-hordes. Only rarely did the halflings join them in battle, favoring a quiet pastoral life. However, once the halflings were forced to fight for their lives alongside the Naugrim and the Mog races. The gods saw that life for their underlings was at a bit of a standstill, so they decided to test them with a challenge. Lilyath created four gems of immense power, one for each of the four races. These gems would imbue the wearer with godly power. It is even suggested by some that this was her template for the creation of the Adrazi Tharoon, Lazerak, and Der’ge at the birth of the second world. These gems were taken up by four heroes, one from each race. The Emerald was taken by Pip Harfoot, of the Perians. The Diamond was taken by Gordahn Bronzebeard of the Naugrim, The Amethyst was taken by Artemicion of the Moogles, and the Black Pearl was taken by Oogrik the Troll Queen. Once these heroes had been created, the gods descended from the heavens and told the four races that their time was nearly up in this realm. They promised that one race would be sustained into the birth of the second world, the one that could bring peace upon the lands before the end of time. Each of the four races saw this in a different light. The Halflings believed that they had already achieved peace through their quiet life of inaction, so they remained in their daily lives, unconcerned with the troubles of the world. The Naugrim quickly went to war with the Oologs, believing them to be the root of all chaos in the world, seeking to destroy them. The Oologs set out to destroy all of the other races and steal all of their wealth, and for the first time had a fearsome Queen on the battlefield leading them as a general. But of all of the race, the Moogles were the ones who saw through this situation. The only way to bring peace was to end the fighting and resentment between the races. In order to do this, they elected to transfer all of their magical energy into the universe in the form of love. So the Mogking Artemicion gathered the nomadic tribes of moogles together and set out on a perilous mission to climb the highest peak of the world, Gods Peak. This is one of the few landmarks that survived the cataclysm at the end of the first age, and was later designated by the gods as a holy site in the mortal world. The moogles trekked across the lands of the Halflings, trying to recruit them to their cause, but only one was willing to join them. This was Pip Harfoot, wielder of the holy Emerald. He became the loyal companion and friend of Artemicion on this journey. Their next challenge was to pass through the Deadlands, where the great war between the dwarves and Trolls was raging. The Dwarf-King, Gordahn Bronzebeard invited the moogles to his warcamp. He met with Pip and Artemicion, Attempting to recruit them in the fight against the Oologs. Pip and Artemicion refused to join the war and continued on their way. Gordahn Bronzebeard was soon thereafter killed by Oogrik on the battlefield, but not before she forced the location of the moogles out of him. She then set out in pursuit of the Moogles herself, while the rest of her army went on to destroy the Halflings. When the Moogles finally got to the foot of Gods peak, they were intercepted by Oogrik and her elite guards. The moogles fought bravely there, felling many trolls, but also losing many lives themselves. Pip Harfoot and Artemicion the Mogking fought in single combat with the Troll Queen on the precipice of the mountain. Artemicion was mortally wounded by the Queen’s mighty bone waraxe and fell to the ground. The queen approached the Mogking, preparing to eat him and absorb the power of the moogle and take his amethyst for herself. As she gave her evil-villain monologue above the fallen moogle, Pip jumped on her back and climbed up to her head, driving his blade into the back of her neck, killing her. She fell with a mighty thud, dropping the black pearl and the diamond of the Naugrim. Pip took the three gems up into his hands, feeling the massive magical power. The Moogles circled the mountain’s peak where their king had fallen and began their holy Kupo song, imbuing it with their magical love energy. Pip held the limp body of Artemicion in his arms and cried for the loss of his friend. The love of the moogles formed a giant pink heart of magical energy over the peak of the mountain, throbbing with the wish for peace in all of the lands. Pip placed all four of the gems in the hands of Artemicion and lifted him into the heart. The heart took off into the air and exploded into a rainbow of vibrant color and warmth that filled every dark orifice in the world, ending the fighting between Dwarf and Troll and Halfling. The gods descended from the heavens and addressed Pip there on the mountaintop in the circle of moogles. They revealed that the halflings would be reborn into the new world as the Kalnuur; taller, stronger, and brave of heart taking the favorable qualities of the Naugrim as well. The moogles would be taken to the moon where they would live out their own story in peace and separation from the world at large. The trolls would be cast off into the void, not to be seen again for their violence and greed. Then the gods enacted their final will upon the first world. They lifted all beings into the heavens and began the project of reconstructing the world into the one we know today. And so the story of those races came to a close, and a new chapter was begun. Some say that the moogles still live up there on one of the moons, watching over the second world, waiting for a chance to return. -Lore by Twomblinator1